NFL

Nike elects not to renew QB Winston's contract

5:35 PM ET

  • Darren Rovell

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    ESPN Senior Writer
    • ESPN.com’s sports business reporter since 2012; previously at ESPN from 2000-06
    • Appears on SportsCenter, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com and with ABC News
    • Formerly worked as analyst at CNBC

  • Seth Wickersham

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    ESPN Senior Writer
    • Senior Writer for ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine
    • Joined ESPN The Magazine after graduating from the University of Missouri.
    • Although he primarily covers the NFL, his assignments also have taken him to the Athens Olympics, the World Series, the NCAA tournament and the NHL and NBA playoffs.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Jameis Winston is no longer a Nike man.

A Nike official told ESPN on Friday that Winston’s deal expired and the company elected not to renew the former No. 1 overall draft pick.

Sources say Winston’s contract expired before the NFL announced he would be suspended for the first three games of the regular season for violating the league’s personal conduct policy. The violation relates to a 2016 incident in which Winston was accused of groping a female Uber driver.

Jameis Winston’s Nike contract expired before he was suspended three games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, sources said. David Rosenblum/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images

Winston apologized in a statement following the suspension, after denying seven months before that the incident took place.

Nike’s biggest bets on former Heisman Trophy winners haven’t panned out. In 2010, they signed Tim Tebow, whose career on the gridiron faltered. In 2016, when he switched to baseball, he went to Adidas.

Nike signed Johnny Manziel in 2014, but ended the relationship the following year because of his off-field troubles.

What Winston will replace the Nike swoosh with is unknown. Calls to Winston’s marketing agent, Russ Spielman, were not returned.